Foundations of Scaling FoS.

Dates: Oct 2024 – June 2025
Location: Madrid, Munich, Barcelona and live online.
Format: 9-month part-time program, with 6 residential sprints and 4 live online sprints. The program will be delivered in English.
Residential modules: 6 three days residential sprints delivered on IESE’s state-of-the-art campuses in Barcelona, Madrid and Munich.
Online modules: 4 half-day online sprints focused entirely on leadership and where your entire senior leadership team can join. ​

The curriculum comprises five parallel tracks delivered throughout the program.

People

• Self-awareness and self-leadership
• The Journey from founder to leader
• Building the senior leadership team
• Building the people function
• Shaping culture
• Hiring top talent
• Internal communication and employee feedback
• Performance management
• Compensation and employee ownership

Strategy

• The scaling phenomenon
• Articulating and implementing purpose and vision
• Articulating and implementing strategy
• Designing the strategy process
• Orchestrating ecosystems and creating value for all stakeholders
• Building and managing a board

Finance

• Funding needs, options and strategies
• Negotiating investments, valuations and term sheet
• Equity split and co-founder relationships
• Entrepreneurial finance
• Understanding your economic engine

Operations

• Building a management system
• Designing an organizational structure
• Metrics and dashboards
• Non-hierarchical organization design
• Designing systems and processes
• Organizing customer service
• The operations function and role of the COO

Markets

• Strategic pricing
• Geographical expansion,
• Strategic marketing: UVP segmentation and positioning
• Understanding your customer
• Building a brand
• Building the marketing & sales function

• +125 hours of carefully curated content, fully tailored to the needs of scaleups​.
• Highly interactive lectures, case discussions and workshops​.
• Peer Councils: Groups of six to eight founders to discuss your biggest challenges, guided by an experienced coach​.
• Variety of peer learning dynamics​.
• Ample time in class to apply frameworks and key lessons to your unique situation​.
• 360º leadership assessment (the Leadership Circle Profile)

Upon graduation, participants of the Foundations of Scaling Program are invited to continue their scaling journey with IESE in the Keep Scaling program. The yearlong program consists of a leadership retreat, six Peer Council meetings, and joint sprints with the next cohort of the Foundations of Scaling Program program. Specifically, you will share the classroom with participants of the previous program edition during three of the six residential sprints. The objective of the Keep Scaling Program is to offer continued education to alumni, but also to foster relationships with fellow entrepreneurs across the different generations of the program. In this sense, the Keep Scaling Program is a stepping-stone towards IESE’s long-term objective of shaping a powerful community of European scaleup entrepreneurs who help each other build large and purpose-driven businesses.

Program fees

General fee: TBC
Co-founder fee: TBC

Scholarships and discounts for individuals and special groups available.

The program fee includes approx. 125 hours of learning and sharing in class, six facilitated Peer Councils sessions, a 360º leadership assessment (Leadership Circle Profile), academic materials and all meals. Travel and accommodation expenses are not included.

Payment terms

Payment is required in three installments:

• 15% as a commitment fee upon acceptance
• 35% Dates TBC
• 50% Dates TBC

Admissions

An Admissions Committee thoroughly reviews every application. Places are limited. Due to class-size constraints and the need to ensure a balanced mix of participants, it is possible that even highly qualified applicants may not be admitted.